Minoan into Greek

Hervey Allen

Spin, planet, spin! Bellows of the minotaur
Die away beneath the flames of daedal palaces.
Lions quiver beneath the arrows of Sargon.
Croesus beholds his image on a disc.
White marble spots the grey-green hills of Greece.
Charmed by the music of the Asian grasshopper,
Soothed by the wash of lights upon the sea-near hills,
Greeks become friendly with the Earth,
And forgetting fear
Under the long shadows of the peristyles,
Speak of the beautiful importance of themselves.
   Worn by the rain of ages,
   The faint fair body of the boy
   Blooms in the ivory-weathered stone.
   He stands before an altar
   Worthy to be shown the gods.
   Like a drapery of Music,
   The garments of his mother
   Flow in the delicious melody
   Of the chiseled breeze.